The invention generally relates to graphical user interfaces, and more particularly to a graphical user interface used by physicians to quickly and concisely document procedures and/or exams conducted in healthcare facilities.
The development of graphical user interfaces started in the development labs of Xerox, IBM, and others and eventually made it to the public domain via the introduction of the Apple LISA personal computer, X-Windows on Unix terminals, TopView from IBM, and Windows from Microsoft. As the graphical user interface established itself as the primary means of computer to human interfacing there have been various methods seeking to improve the look, the feel, and the speed at which information is transferred from the end user to the software application and database operating under a graphical user interface. The present invention serves to improve upon these already developed methods by tying together methods that have been heretofore not engineered in a way the benefits the physician during their documentation of medical procedures and exams. The traditional method of physician medical procedure documentation is via the dictation and transcription model. Several vendors have developed structured methods of medical procedure documentation that are based on menus and menu trees. Other structured methods have been based on anatomic diagrams and annotating diagrams with text that documents findings, intervention, and maneuvers conducted during the medical procedure. A structured language bridge or ontology does not exist that uniquely matches up the documentation conducted via the menu method and the diagram method.
The invention allows the physician to generate naturally expressed medical procedure descriptions via a synchronized diagram and menu system. The physician is free to choose either method of documentation, either via a diagram or via a menu system. Entries or changes in one method of documentation are automatically synchronized with the other. This enables the physician to quickly and concisely generate naturally expressed medical procedure descriptions in a method that suits their needs.
There are systems and methods that address these issues. However, the prior art does not sufficiently address the issue of providing an efficient and effective means to solve these problems. There are several software systems in the public domain that allow for the entry of information via a menu system and several software systems that allow documentation and annotations to be completed via a diagram but none of the prior art brings these two methods together in a synchronized manner.
It would therefore be advantageous to have a method and system for designing and implementing a system and method for generating naturally expressed medical procedure descriptions via a synchronized diagram and menu system. In this manner, physicians are able to describe their procedures in a clinical style that is natural to the physician with alternative user interface methods that allows for the rapid entry of concise and complete medical procedure documentation.
The object of the invention is to provide a concise and complete procedure documentation system that generates naturally expressed medical procedure descriptions by allowing the physician to work with a user interface that is consistent with their style of documentation for their medical specialty. For example, cardiologists typically utilize pictures to describe their findings when speaking with the patient's family in the waiting room. The physician draws a heart showing the patient's family the findings and interventions that they encountered during the procedure. Afterward, the physician has to dictate their note and wait for the transcription to return before they are “completed” with the procedure. With the invention in place, the physician can utilize the diagram documentation method and use these diagrams as part of the procedure description and also use the diagrams to show the patient's family the findings and interventions.
It is another objective of the invention to keep the two methods of documentation synchronized to ensure that the documentation is correct independent of the method of data entry. The synchronization will additionally help to reduce medical errors. For example, the physician could document their procedure completely by using the diagrams and the documentation generated by the invention would have all of the information necessary to correctly assign the CPT and ICD9 codes associated with the medical procedure. Alternatively, the physician could document their procedure completely by using the menuing system and the documentation generated by the invention would have all of the information necessary to correctly assign the CPT and ICD9 codes associated with the medical procedure. The physician could choose to use either method during the procedure documentation process and the invention would keep the data synchronized.
Thus, as will be appreciated from a review of the drawings and detailed descriptions of the preferred embodiments, the present invention overcomes the significant limitations and shortcomings of the prior art.